According to the DoJ, Sacred Hope Center, a Southfield, Michigan-infusion clinic, routinely billed Medicare for services that were never performed and medically unnecessary. The patients were prescribed medications that were most likely to bring the most Medicare reimbursements. These medications were not based on medical need. A licensed Physical Therapist, Baskaran Thangarasan, admitted to creating fictitious therapy files documenting physical therapy services to Medicare beneficiaries. His role was to sign documents stating he performed services to Medicare beneficiaries. These services were not performed and he was given $50 for each document signed. Total claims estimated to be $5,055,000. Sandeep Aggarwal set up sham entities to conceal the location of the fraudulently obtained Medicare money. In order to recruit patients to Sacred Hope Center, co-conspirator Wayne Smith stated he transported and paid Medicare beneficiaries to sign paperwork stating they had received infusions and injections of specialty medications which they never received. Thangarasan, Aggarwal, and Smith face sentences in jail, as well as $1 million in fines. Fraudblawg has previously reported on the fraud at Sacred Hope: here and here.

To report Medicare fraud, contact Frohsin & Barger.